Steroids is not THE problem. Steroids is just an optional ingredient in the recipe. The key ingredient in the problem? Pain and how they deal with it. I can't remember which pro wrestler talked about it but a wrestler talked about how a typical wrestler takes drugs.
It all starts out with lack of sleep and pain. Before the late 90s they would usually wrestler 6 or 7 days per week. That top guys would sometimes wrestle twice on Sundays in locations not too far apart from each other. They'd get run down and get hurt. Not too hard to get hurt considering the nature of their jobs. The abuse themselves to put on a show for the fans. Unfortunately the show must go on, so they will perform hurt. These guys will work through injuries that would make Bobby Baun look weak and futile for playing on a broken foot.
The pain is too much to deal with without having to take something to ease the pain. They need painkillers so they can sleep. They need painkillers so they can get in the ring. Some guys find that the painkillers make them too drowsy so they take some uppers to bring them up for a match. Then they have to take the painkillers and or downers so they can get to sleep. They have to get up early in the morning to get to the next town, so they take some uppers again so they won't miss their flight, or so they can drive to the next town. Lather, rinse, repeat. Throw in steroids to the mix because they're either too hurt, too worn down, or travelling too much to get in a workout to not only keep their body looking top notch but also to keep themselves strong enough to perform in the ring. But wait, there is more. Still have to have time to party. They'll go out and drink the night away, even though they're taking all these drugs.
Combine all the drinking and drugs they do, with the abuse they put their bodies through in the ring, with the lack of sleep that comes with a life on the road and it shouldn't be surprising that these guys are dying so young. Their hearts simply cannot handle it. If isn't a simple heart failure, its an overdose because they couldn't stop the cycle and got in too deep.
Last edited by Buff; 03-14-2009 at 10:18 PM.
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With this news, I'm sure a lot of Testicles were crushed.
Oh yeah!! That is what his fans were called. Enjoyed him when he was with Stacey Keibler. Haven't watched wreslting in ages, but it is such a shame they die so young.
You gotta think besides the Painkillers they are probably taking anti-depressants as well. Look at Benoit, killed his family and himself. Obviously mentally he was pretty screwed up. So you got to figure there taking stuff to stop them from driving themselves insane.
The UFC's drug testing policies might be the best and strictest in pro sports.
However, the lower leagues don't have as strict policies. Where does UFC get their fighters from? Just like in the MLB the minor leaguers do probably more roids than the majors because for them its a way to millions.
According to The Sun out of the UK, former WWE wrestler Andrew "Test" Martin died after overdosing on the painkiller known as "Hillbilly heroin."
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner out of Tampa announced his cause of death as Oxycodone intoxication as a result of an accidental overdose.
Oxycodone is an addictive ingredient found in the painkillers OxyContin, Percoset and Percoden.
Martin was found dead in his Tampa apartment just four days shy of his 34th birthday on March 14, 2009 after a neighbor reported that he had appeared motionless for several hours.
The pill, dubbed "Hillbilly heroin," was also linked to the death of fellow wrestler "Sensational" Sherri Martel, not to mention Oscar-winning actor Heath Ledger.
Thats sad, I remember meeting Brown as he had a second job as a bouncer at Ranchmans when he was in Stampede Wrestling. He didn't look like your typical steroid abuser, he was more of the old school wrestler that you saw in the independents in the early 80's.
But he was a very nice guy when I met him and very unassuming. One of the better midlevel performers, who played a great villian with the likes of Mike Shaw and Dirty Duke Myers.
I was just reading a book called the Hart Dungeon by Scott Keith where he examined the Stampede Wrestling curse, and its quite sad that most of my favorite wrestlers of that generation like Biff Wellington, Larry Cameron, Davy Boy Smith (Who's son was suspended last year for breaking the wellness policy) Owen Hart and so many others have died due to the abuse of drugs, alcohol and painkiller abuse have rolled them all up.
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My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
And sadly, judging by the path Jeff Hardy is heading down, I can see him being another one to pass away too soon... http://www.gerweck.net/news/1252700222.shtml
Let's hope he can get himself clean after this arrest.
I was just reading a book called the Hart Dungeon by Scott Keith where he examined the Stampede Wrestling curse, and its quite sad that most of my favorite wrestlers of that generation like Biff Wellington, Larry Cameron, Davy Boy Smith (Who's son was suspended last year for breaking the wellness policy) Owen Hart and so many others have died due to the abuse of drugs, alcohol and painkiller abuse have rolled them all up.
Not to take away from your point or the intent of your post, but I don't really think Owen should be included in this list, as drugs didn't really have any impact on his death.
It's a shame that in this day and age professional wrestlers don't have an "off-season". Is that a result of a lack of competition for WWE? Or is it just old-school traditions and mentalities that people have always done?
It's a shame that in this day and age professional wrestlers don't have an "off-season". Is that a result of a lack of competition for WWE? Or is it just old-school traditions and mentalities that people have always done?
From an asset management point of view I can't understand this. It takes so much time and effort to turn a man into a wrestling brand, why would you want to risk having that brand burn out quicker then it needs to? Furthermore, the WWE controls the story line and everything else surrounding the shows, why can't they cycle through the wrestlers giving them 2 or 3 months off a year?
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Not to take away from your point or the intent of your post, but I don't really think Owen should be included in this list, as drugs didn't really have any impact on his death.
It's a shame that in this day and age professional wrestlers don't have an "off-season". Is that a result of a lack of competition for WWE? Or is it just old-school traditions and mentalities that people have always done?
No, your right, but there's no doubt that the wrestling industry killed Owen. There's a tradition that you don't say no to angles too many times because someone will step into your spot and do it which could cost you your spot or your job.
Owen was scared to say no to a stunt that he wasn't comfortable with because he was afraid that it would cost him.
Owen might not have been killed by the Wrestling industries bigger better body requirements, but he was killed by the demands of the industries traditions never the less.
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Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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Enjoyed him when he was with Stacey Keibler. Haven't watched wreslting in ages, but it is such a shame they die so young. 
